Nationals center fielder Bryce Harper struck out for the final out of the game. / H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

by Paul White, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul White, USA TODAY Sports

WASHINGTON -- Bryce Harper is the most conspicuous of the Washington Nationals' struggling hitters - 1-for-15 in his first three postseason games, worse than the 1-for-11s of Adam LaRoche and Kurt Suzuki - simply because he's Bryce Harper.

He got more attention for wearing red-tinted contact lenses Wednesday to help combat sun issues that have plagued him and other outfielders during Nationals Park day games.

He calmly answered those questions and ones about the team not hitting vs. the St. Louis Cardinals.

"We get some runs on the board early, keep on the pedal, we'll be OK," he said of trying to turn around the series, which they trail 2-1.

And one more thing: "Our guys going out there and throwing some shutout innings, keeping their hitters off balance," he said.

It's not like that was a brash kid popping off about a pitching staff suddenly gone awry. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who couldn't figure that out among the record Nationals Park crowd of 45,017 - especially the ones beating rush-hour traffic by bailing in the late innings of Washington's first playoff game in 79 years.

And so what if he's hitting .067.

"It's real easy to sit back and say he's pressing or that it's too big for him," teammate Jayson Werth said. "If he goes (today) without getting any hits, I'll bet on him for the next day. He's my guy."